Obamination (the all Obama-slagging Isles)

[Doctor Rock]

However, I would vote for him if I was USian. 

But I believe the folks who are supporting Obama without reservations are heading for disappointment.  Either he doesn't get the nomination, either he gets it but is defeated, or, worse of all, he gets to be the potus... Then, the Obama fans are going to be in for a big letdown, since the guy will be unable (or unwilling) to live up to their expectations.

[Tripp]

being disappointed by Obama is better than being screwed by McCain.

[Doctor Rock]

being disappointed by Obama is better than being screwed by McCain.

Whomever gets to be potus is going to inherit 8 years of mismanagement, and decades of imperial hubris.  Fixing that takes balls that I don't believe Obama has.  Right now, he's just the "feel good" candidate, and he's very much banking on that.   I do think that, of the three left standing, Obama is the one that stinks the least, and I would vote for him... But if La Clinton was the dem candidate, I would vote for her... I would vote for them not because I find them particularly appealing, but because the repugs are worse. 

My expectations are pretty low.

[Tripp]

WE ARE LOOKING AT THINGS REALISTICALLY.

REALISTICALLY, OBAMA IS THE BEST CANDIDATE.  IF YOU THINK MCCAIN OR CLINTON IS BETTER THEN EXPLAIN WHY. OTHERWISE YOU ARE JUST BEING A NAYSAYER.

[matthew]

NAY! NAY! 

[matthew]

Out of the people running I expect Obama will win.

Out of the people running who might actually win I expect that Obama is the least worst.

Therefore I hope y'all get your wish.

I also expect that many people will be disappointed with Obama (I was never talking about this board when I began writing what I did at the end of January, I was actually referring to people I have seen both in media and in political forums I frequent. By and large Obama supporters have not a fucking clue what he really represents or how bloody conservative he really is. This never meant I believed that Crappiteers were voting Obama for the same reasons (again, I did not even realize that Obama was the dominant option here when I began).


I expect that Obama will be a one term president.

I did not expect anyone to post here...I certainly had no plans to post here...but... since we are...I do hope we can all slag whoever becomes President, regardless of who voted for whom.

[Doctor Rock]

WE ARE LOOKING AT THINGS REALISTICALLY.

REALISTICALLY, OBAMA IS THE BEST CANDIDATE.  IF YOU THINK MCCAIN OR CLINTON IS BETTER THEN EXPLAIN WHY. OTHERWISE YOU ARE JUST BEING A NAYSAYER.

Obama seems to be the best of the three, that's basically what I'm saying. No need to shout.  I changed my previous post before I saw your reply, since I thought I was sounding a bit patronising... 

I'm just reacting to the hype concerning Obama, see, I just don't understand this "Obamania" stuff.  Is it a media creation?  Or are people really going ape for him?  To me, Obama is rather ho-hum.  Better than the other two, but I would probably be more enthusiastic if, say, John Edwards had got to where Obama is now, know what I mean?

[matthew]

Speaking of being screwed by McCain...it has begun..."DEMOCRAT PRESIDENT = WE ALL DIE" Season has begun!

I just came from one of those political forums where I responded to a post concerning McCain's bogus "worries" re: Iraq

This was the news item:


McCain Fears Stepped Up Attacks in Iraq

By LIBBY QUAID – 2 hours ago

SPRINGFIELD, Pa. (AP) — Republican John McCain said he worries that terrorists might try to influence the November general election with increased attacks in Iraq.

"Yes, I worry about it," he said Friday, responding to a question at a town hall-style forum. "And I know they pay attention, because of the intercepts we have of their communications."

The questioner asked if McCain feared al-Qaida in Iraq or another group might attack in an effort to aid the Democratic nominee, because Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama both favor a withdrawal of U.S. forces.

McCain told reporters later that al-Qaida remains smart and adaptable despite an increase of U.S. troops in Iraq.

"We have had great success with the surge, but to think they're not capable of orchestrating really strong attacks ... I think is an underestimation of the enemy," McCain said.

"We still have the most lethal explosive devices coming across the border from Iran into Iraq," he said. "We still have suicide bombers landing at the airport in Damascus and coming into Iraq as we speak.

"So I would not be surprised if they make an attempt. I believe that we can counter most of it, as we are countering. But there will still be spikes and difficulties and challenges associated with this conflict. Otherwise, I'd be advocating that they come home," he said.

McCain plans to visit Iraq this weekend on a weeklong overseas trip that includes Israel, Britain and France.

He was campaigning Friday in Pennsylvania, which holds presidential primary elections on April 22. Clinton and Obama have claimed the spotlight in the state; McCain sewed up the Republican nomination with victories March 4 in Ohio and Texas.



My brief response was this:

the opposite is true, of course

If al Qaeda had a choice between the three leading candidates, they would certainly choose McCain because they want the U.S. to maintain maximum troop levels there. They know that nothing aids their recruitment like an American military occupation.

Both Obama and Hillary's versions of "phased withdrawal" (i.e. not an actual withdrawal - the final "phase" is several decades off) will leave plenty of military, bureaucratic/diplomatic and corporate targets on which to focus, but al Qaeda requires the face of the military to anger their fellow Arab Muslims and provoke an Islamist revolution. The occupation is paramount and was the primary goal of the attacks carried out on the 11th of September 2001.

However, further attacks within Iraq are unlikely to faze the American populace who simply wish to forget about Bush's little adventure (which explains in part the popularity of the political Novocaine named Barack Obama). al Qaeda terrorists would need to strike on a massive and unprecedented scale for it to have any effect stateside.

There is someone who might benefit from renewed violence in Iraq. Muqtada al-Sadr's Shia Mahdi Army might be prompted to launch a "mini Tet offensive" in Iraq if it looks as if McCain might be the favoured candidate. The goal of such an offensive would be to make a continued occupation even more unpalatable for the majority of Americans. Even this hypothetical seems unlikely given that al-Sadr has shown quite remarkable restraint thus far, and it could easily backfire on him and doom whatever leadership role he hopes to assume once the Americans are gone.

The only reason McCain is allowed to dissipate such balderdash is mainstream media complicity in the propaganda of war. Americans should be informed enough that they would laugh at his suggestion the moment it came out of his mouth. But they are not and many still believe that America was attacked because "they hate our freedoms".

Also of note is that this marks a somewhat novel approach to the "a vote for the Democrats is a vote for al Qaeda" fear-mongering that was familiar under the Bush regime. This sort of rhetoric has become unpopular in the years following the 2004 election and McCain has been forced into indirect and passive-aggressive means. This implication that he is what the terrorists fear most is brilliant because it allows for the voter to come to the conclusion that voting for the other is what bin Laden wants most.

[Just Some Girl]

I did not expect anyone to post here...I certainly had no plans to post here...but... since we are...I do hope we can all slag whoever becomes President, regardless of who voted for whom.

No worries.

[Moetown]

I love listening to Obama bashers.

I don't believe he can pull all the troops out of Iraq. I don't believe he'll be able to get the Senate and Congress to approve his health care plan. I do believe he'll improve the education system, which is the most important issue for me.

[Sabamah]

However, further attacks within Iraq are unlikely to faze the American populace who simply wish to forget about Bush's little adventure (which explains in part the popularity of the political Novocaine named Barack Obama).

do you not understand how this is insulting? even if you're not "talking about us!! omg!! i'm so not!", you're fucking TALKING ABOUT US. i'm just repeatedly baffled by this whole thread.


 

[Moetown]

Obama boom-bah-yea!

[Doctor Rock]

Bammers, what do you think of Obama?  You seem to be genuinely enthusiastic about him, you seem to even like him, as if he was the best of all time, not just the least bad of the three (maybe I'm not being quite accurate, but I am just giving you the impression you're giving me).  Can you explain why?  Lets all try to understand one another. 

[Doctor Rock]

I'm rather sceptical of Obama, but keep in mind that I really hope I'm wrong about the guy!  I want him to be a great prez.  But I don't believe he has it in him, in fact I expect him to be the american equivalent of Tony Blair (that is, a charismatic articulate right winger adept at using the rhetoric of the left for his own political ends).  Also, I distrust heroes, saviors and cults of personality.  Considering the kind of hype surrounding Obama, it is only natural that someone with a contrarian sceptical bent will react to Obama with, well, contrarian scepticism. 

But, as I have said before, I would vote for the guy if I was USian.  He seems to be the least crap of the three left standing.

[matthew]

However, further attacks within Iraq are unlikely to faze the American populace who simply wish to forget about Bush's little adventure (which explains in part the popularity of the political Novocaine named Barack Obama).

do you not understand how this is insulting? even if you're not "talking about us!! omg!! i'm so not!", you're fucking TALKING ABOUT US. i'm just repeatedly baffled by this whole thread.


 

As dumb as you might think I am, I would not simply attack your (or "us")  reasons for voting for Barack Obama so crudely or passive aggressively. I was talking about the majority of people who will be electing the President.

THESE people are not voting for Barack Obama for the same reasons as you, these people of whom I refer to Obama as "Political Novocaine" desire only for the process to make them feel good. To them he is akin to comfort food.

Unless your reasons are as base as this, I assure you I am NOT talking about you.

Really.